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Professionals and Practitioners

Strategic Review of Advocacy for Adults with a Learning Disability 2008/09 Summary Impact Assessment

Department: Adult Services

Date: 26/1/09

Completing Officer’s Name: Emma Dyer

Summary of findings

Adults with learning disabilities span across a wide age range. Currently advocacy services tend to be used more frequently by younger people.

A significant proportion of adults with a learning disability also have additional needs such as mobility, sight, hearing needs.

Adults with multiple or complex needs (such as communication needs) are likely to need to use advocacy services for longer periods of time before achieving outcomes or goals.

Adults with a learning disability represent a wide range of faiths and services need to be tailored to their needs.

The overall proportion of people with a moderate or severe learning disability is increasing, especially within Black and Minority Ethnic groups. It is notable at present that the increasing BME population within Hampshire does not make use of Adult Services which may be due to lack of appropriate information about services.

Adults with a learning disability represent a wide range of sexual orientations and services need to be tailored to their needs.

Therefore:

Individuals with multiple or complex needs are likely to require longer periods of time using advocacy services. Individuals from all minority backgrounds have the potential to be excluded if services are not tailored to individual needs.

full report attached 67kb

Summary of Recommendations

To enable more adults with learning disabilities from minority groups to have access to advocacy provision.

This will be achieved by:

ensuring that the advocacy service specification for adults with a learning disability tailors services to individual needs by December 2009.
issues relating to minority groups accessing advocacy provision will be monitored and reviewed on an ongoing basis.

This will be reviewed in December 2010 when new advocacy contracts will have been in place for 3 months.

Expected outcomes will be a higher proportion of minority groups accessing advocacy provision.